GOAT currently counts more than 11 million users, up from 2.5 million in 2018 and the company’s supply has also grown from 200,000 sneaker listings to 750,000 in the same time frame with its revenue growing more than 500 percent as a result. GOAT says that its most lucrative sellers have sold more than $10 million in sneakers each, up from $2 million in 2017.

For both sides the deal makes sense and shows how E-commerce, retail as well as the resale industry are merging. While Foot Locker is seeking new ways to elevate customer experience and bring sneaker and youth culture to people around the world, GOAT can greatly benefit from more than 3,000 retail locations in 27 countries complementing its digital presence with physical access points worldwide and bringing more value to the community of buyers and sellers.

With the sneaker resell market as a whole becoming more accepted by consumers and more authoritative in the sneaker space at large, in the past two years, players in the secondary market like GOAT, Grailed or Stadium Goods have become direct competition of traditional wholesalers such as Foot Locker. Given the way the market, and consumers, are shopping today, the investment is not just strategic, it is necessary for Foot Locker’s relevance among young shoppers and ultimately its long-term survival.